The Warner Bros. release, written by Dave Kajganich, will center on Carol (Kidman) who uncovers a conspiracy in a small town where the inhabitants' personalities seem to be changing.

Production on the new version will begin in October.

In Don Siegel's original 1956 sci-fi/horror film, a hysteria spreads through a small California town after townspeople appear to their relatives and friends as strangers while retaining their outward appearances. The studio owns the remake rights to the film after making 1993's Body Snatchers, directed by Abel Ferrara.

Kidman also re-confirmed her participation in Wong Kar-wais upcoming A Lady From Shanghai, which will shoot in Russia and elsewhere in the west. The film is set in the 1950s and revolves around a glamorous woman in danger and in love with a spy.

Interesting. I havent seen it but Hirschbiegels film Untergang, Der has received huge acclaim by critics. Invasion is one of those films that deserves a modern re-make. It's classic story and can be done well, I hope.

Interesting. I havent seen it but Hirschbiegels film Untergang, Der has received huge acclaim by critics. Invasion is one of those films that deserves a modern re-make. It's classic story and can be done well, I hope.

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I agree,and with a class actress like Kidman it has a good chance of being a decent remake IMO

By Borys Kit
Nicole Kidman is in final negotiations to topline "Invasion," a sci-fi thriller being directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel for Warner Bros. Pictures. Joel Silver is producing.

The story takes place after a mysterious epidemic alters the behavior of human beings and follows a Washington psychiatrist (Kidman) who discovers that its origins are extraterrestrial. She must fight to protect her son, who may hold the key to stopping the invasion.

The project is neither a reimagining nor a remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." The project originated as a remake, but when writer David Kajganich turned in his take, the studio thought it had something fresh on its hands.

"It's a very insidious story about how the end of the world can come through science and disease and not through explosions," Silver said. "Oliver really understands the kind of dark character study that this is going to be. He fell in love with Nicole, he said he really wanted her, and it took us a while to make the deal."

Vertigo Entertainment's Doug Davison and Roy Lee will executive produce along with Susan Levin, Don Zepfel and Steve Richards. David Gambino is the associate producer.

Dan Lin is overseeing for the studio.

A late September shoot in Baltimore is being eyed for the pic, which is being co-financed by Village Roadshow Pictures.

For Kidman, repped by CAA and attorney Alan Wertheimer, "Invasion" would be a return to a genre she hasn't done since the ghost story "The Others" in 2001.

Hirschbiegel directed the Academy Award-nominated German-language film "Downfall," which has grossed more than $87 million worldwide. His other credits include "Das Experiment," Germany's entry for the Academy Awards in 2002. He is repped by UTA and attorney Barry Hirsch.